Chapter Fourteen: Scumbag Brother Qin Chengxuan
"Ayu," Qin Youming called out with great persuasiveness, "It's not that your father is afraid of Qin Zhining."
But this little vixen is causing gossip among the neighbors, and if things get out of hand, it could ruin your marriage with the third son of the He family, which would be a huge loss.
Remember this: the He family is determined to marry you. We can settle things later once you've married into the family and established yourself.
Turning to Aunt An, she said softly, "Qinghe, take another ten taels of silver from the public funds for Ayu. Buy whatever she likes. The money I earn is meant for you to spend."
A few sweet words made Aunt An's face light up, and she felt a sense of comfort in her heart.
Taking the opportunity to flatter, Aunt Liu said, "Eldest Miss, that young lady—the second young lady—has been raised outside and has no experience. In our family…you will surely become the matriarch of the He family in the future, and won't that depend on your help?"
Qin Zhiyu was overjoyed to receive both money and praise. She said coquettishly, "My parents love their daughter the most. When I marry into the prefectural city, I will definitely ask the He family to help my father get promoted."
Qin Youming was overjoyed to hear this.
Tinglan Garden is right next to the main house. The laughter of a family of four drifted out from the main house, which was extremely jarring and heartbreaking.
Hearing Qin Zhiyu's smug laughter, Qin Zhining stood in the shadows of the covered walkway, looked back at the source of the laughter, and felt genuinely sorry for the original owner and her mother.
Especially Qin Zhiyu's words, "When I marry into the prefectural city, I will definitely take you and Mother to enjoy a life of luxury," her coquettish pride bounced back against the corridor pillar, making her clutch the half-frozen cornbread in her arms.
This is the restless, angry spirit of the original owner.
When Qin Zhiyu was eight years old, He Qilin secretly gave her a peach blossom silver hairpin when he went to her ancestral home. Now it is stuck in Qin Zhiyu's hair.
When she was nine years old, He Sanlang went to his ancestral home to pay respects to his ancestors at the Qin family's old residence. He stopped by to see her and, blushing, made a vow to "propose to her when she comes of age."
As a result, it has long since become a joke.
The reason she was allowed to return to the Qin family mansion once was because the He family wanted to break off the engagement, and the Qin family needed her, as the "proper person in charge," to deal with it.
Thinking of this, Qin Zhining sighed for the original owner of the body and for her past self, "Xiaoxiao, let's go back to our little corner of the world."
She called out to Qin Xiaoxiao and was about to step inside when a young man's arrogant voice suddenly rang out from around the corner of the corridor, "Stop. Qin Zhining, you better stand still."
Qin Zhining stopped and turned around. She recognized the person who had come, and couldn't help but narrow her eyes.
It was Qin Chengxuan, Qin Youming's eldest son by a concubine, who walked out from the shadows with an arrogant and domineering air.
The fifteen-year-old boy was tall and handsome, wearing a brand-new dark-colored Hangzhou silk long gown, with a jade belt tightly fastened, and playing with a piece of jade in his hand.
Upon seeing him, the original owner's memories surged back instantly.
The so-called jade in Qin Chengxuan's hand was a gift from He Qilin to curry favor with him, her "brother-in-law," after He Qilin broke off the engagement.
From then on, the half-brother treasured it every day, as if it were a magic spell for his meteoric rise to success.
But now, the original owner's vengeful spirit lingers, while those who killed her are living a life of luxury.
Qin Zhining felt the resentment growing stronger within her body.
"Where did this beggar come from?" Qin Chengxuan glanced sideways at Qin Zhining, tossing the jade stone up and catching it again, his contempt undisguised. "You dare to trespass into the Qin residence and cause trouble? Are you tired of living?"
The servants behind him immediately burst into laughter.
Two of them had already rolled up their sleeves and were eager to get started, just waiting for their master's order.
Qin Zhining didn't say anything, but slammed the long bench on the ground.
The dull thud of the stool leg hitting the bluestone slab was particularly jarring, and her arrogant aura and cold gaze startled the servants.
This beggar-like second young lady has an aura that's even more intimidating than her master's.
Qin Xiaoxiao stepped forward without fear, glaring fiercely at the spoiled brat Qin Chengxuan, muttering something unintelligible.
Seeing that the two men were in a sorry state but showed no fear of him, Qin Chengxuan could no longer contain his anger and frowned impatiently as he shouted.
"Are you two deaf? Didn't you hear me speaking to you? Come on, take down these two little beggars who dare to look down on me..."
Before she could finish speaking, Qin Zhining grabbed the bench and rammed into Qin Xiaoxiao.
The stool surface swept across his knees with a gust of wind. Caught off guard, Qin Chengxuan staggered backward like a felled sorghum stalk, his lower back slamming heavily against the stone pier of the moon gate, letting out a miserable "howl" in pain.
The jade stone slipped from his hand and fell to the ground. After spinning a few times, it hit the threshold stone with a "thud," leaving a white mark that stretched from the jade's core to its edge.
"Are you crazy?" Qin Chengxuan jumped up, clutching his lower back, pointing at the jade and trembling with anger. "That's Hetian mutton fat jade."
He Sanlang specially brought this back from the capital; it's enough to buy ten of your worthless lives, you wretched jinx!
Qin Zhining bent down to pick up the jade, her fingertips tracing the newly cracked surface.
Her experience as an apprentice in the interstellar jewelry industry in her previous life allowed her to see through it at a glance.
The jade is of fine texture, but the patterns on it are mixed with other colors, clearly indicating that it is a low-quality product that has been coated with wax, and is worth at most two taels of silver.
She laughed, her voice full of sarcasm. "This was a gift from He Qilin back then, wasn't it? You still have it? You're quite nostalgic, aren't you?"
You treat this piece of junk like a treasure, but has He Qilin even given it a second glance?
Heh... Qin Chengxuan, I guess he hasn't given you anything in the past few years because he doesn't respect you at all.
So, all that real gold and silver we gave Qin Zhiyu has come to you is this dyed, broken stone.
"Qin Chengxuan, you're supposed to be from an official family, how can you be so short-sighted?" She waved the jade in front of him, laughing loudly.
"You're always flaunting fake goods, aren't you afraid the experts will laugh their heads off? Oh, by the way, you should have it tested at a jade shop, right? See, wasn't I right?"
"You're talking nonsense!" Qin Chengxuan's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red, and the veins on his forehead throbbed. "You little bitch, you're spouting nonsense."
He hated it most when people compared him to Qin Zhiyu, and he hated even more that this brat exposed his despicable intentions of currying favor with the He family in public.
He did secretly have the jade shop owner examine it. The shop owner held the jade and examined it for a long time before vaguely saying, "It is jade, but it is slightly lacking in quality."
The look in his eyes that seemed to want to say something but couldn't, even now, still feels like a needle piercing my heart.
“My jade is not something a clueless girl like you can tell the difference between good and bad. If you don’t know anything, then shut up.”
"I'm talking nonsense?" Qin Zhining raised her hand and smashed the jade stone on the ground, and a chip immediately appeared on the edge.
"Should we go to the government office right now, bang on the gong, and ask how much your 'intentions' to please Miss He are worth?"
It turns out that He Sanlang had his eye on Qin Zhiyu, while Qin Chengxuan had his eye on He Sanlang's half-sister, He Guijie.
He knew perfectly well that the jade He Sanlang had given him was fake, but he still swallowed his disgust and pretended to like it. Over the years, he had been showing it off to attract attention and admirers.
He simply wanted to express his unconditional obedience to the He siblings and win the favor of the beauty.
Now, Qin Zhining has not only shattered his jade, but also revealed the secret in his heart that he dared not utter.
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